'The Boondocks' kicks off final season with record ratings

Adult Swim

Granddad and Riley appear in a scene from "The Boondocks."

Granddad and Riley appear in a scene from "The Boondocks." (Adult Swim)

Patrick Kevin Day

The fourth season of "The Boondocks" had a lot of things going against it: The series had been off the air since the last season ended in 2010, and it was produced without the involvement of the series' creator, Aaron McGruder. But the season premiere on Monday night drew the show's highest ratings ever.

The first airing of the Adult Swim program grabbed 1.4 million viewers in the demo of adults 18-34. The show was the No. 1 show on all of broadcast and cable in that same demo, up 50% from viewers in the key demos last season and the highest rated Adult Swim prime-time program in five years. It even beat out NBC's "The Voice" and the NBA playoffs on TNT.

Though McGruder hasn't gone too far -- he's developing a new series called "Black Jesus" for Adult Swim -- his split with the show created from his popular newspaper strip appears complete. His name has been removed completely from the show's opening credits.

While there was much trepidation among cast members and fans of the show for its return without McGruder, the curiosity appears to have resulted in big numbers for the channel.

Despite general anxiety around the departure of a beloved creator or show runner, that absence doesn't necessarily mean the death of the show he or she created. One example is AMC's "The Walking Dead," which saw its first show runner, Frank Darabont, depart after the first season and his replacement, Glen Mazzara, depart after Season 3. Despite the behind-the-scenes drama, the ratings for the zombie drama have continued to climb higher.